


Dawn of the Wolf

by fayesilo



Series: Time Eternal [1]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Angst, Bad Wolf Rose Tyler, Canon Rewrite, Drama, F/F, F/M, First Dates, First Kiss, First Love, First Meetings, First Time, Fluff, Humor, Mentioned Past Companions (Doctor Who), Past Relationship(s), Rewrite, Romance, Science Fiction, Smut, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-08
Updated: 2020-03-07
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:01:49
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23062150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fayesilo/pseuds/fayesilo
Summary: When Rose Tyler meets the Doctor at eight years old, she has no idea how much her life has been irrevocably changed. When she looked into the heart of the TARDIS she did much more than save the Doctor, she saved their future.
Relationships: Eighth Doctor/Rose Tyler, Eleventh Doctor/Rose Tyler, Ninth Doctor/Rose Tyler, Tenth Doctor/Rose Tyler, The Doctor (Doctor Who)/Rose Tyler, Thirteenth Doctor/Rose Tyler, Twelfth Doctor/Rose Tyler
Series: Time Eternal [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1657408
Comments: 9
Kudos: 143





	Dawn of the Wolf

**Author's Note:**

> This is an entire series rewrite with new and original episodes. Each doctor will have their own story in this series, along with cameos. There will be no metacrisis and no doctordonna.

At eight years old, Rose Tyler didn't know much about life. She knew that she had no father (which was surprisingly normal for her neck of the woods), that school was awful, and that the man crouched in front of her Christmas tree was definitely not Santa.

She stared at him for a bit as he tried to get the red bike she had asked for to look nice by the tree. He had floppy brown hair and was wearing a tweed suit jacket and a pair of boots. He didn't seem too happy as he grumbled under his breath while the bike continually tried to fall over.

"You're not Santa." Rose said.

The man startled, the bike slipping out of his hands and falling over onto the tree. He scrambled to pick it back up again, leaning it against the wall beside the tree in a huff as he turned to look at her.

"Rose Tyler, you should be in bed right now." The not-Santa whispered, his arms on his hips as he glared at her.

"Tell me who you are or I'll scream for my mum, then you'll be in real trouble." Rose said as she glared back, moving to match his pose.

"Well, I never! I'm Santa, of course." He said, tugging at his jacket as if he was proud.

"Nu-uh. You look nothin' like Santa." She said as she moved closer, craning her neck to stare up at him.

"Well, I suppose you're not wrong. But! Santa is my friend and he asked me to deliver this wonderful bike to you. Of course, me being me I could hardly refuse to deliver a gift to Rose Tyler on Christmas day." He preened as he tucked his hands into the front pockets of his trousers.

"How do you know my name? And how did you get in here?" Rose asked as she peered around him to look at the shiny red bike.

"Well, I'm the Doctor and I know everything about you Rose Tyler. In the future, we're the best of friends." He replied as he kneeled down to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, "And I got in through the front door because you gave me a key."

"No, I didn't!" She cried indignantly, swiping at his hand.

"Hush! Don't want to wake your mum." The Doctor said as he leaned around her to look down the hall where Jackie's room was, "Besides, I didn't mean you-you, I meant future you."

"Like, 'm all growed up?" She asked in wonder.

"Yes indeed, Rose Tyler. A full fledged adult.” He said with a big smile, “The best adult I know.”

“So, If you’re from the future, does that mean that you can travel in time?” She asked with wonder in her voice.

“Spot on.” He ruffled her hair before standing up and moving around her towards the front door.

“Where are you going?” Rose asked as she turned and stumbled after him.

“Home, of course!” He turned around, walking backwards, “I’ve got my own Rose Tyler to have Christmas with.”

Rose stopped walking when she reached her bedroom door and he had made it to the front door, his hand wrapped around the door knob as he turned it and opened the door as quietly as possible. 

“Oh, okay.” She said quietly, “Merry Christmas, Mister Doctor.”

“Merry Christmas, Rose Tyler.” He said as he winked at her and left. 

She stared at the door for a bit, waiting to see if he would be coming back. When he didn’t return, she turned around to stare at the red bike for a little bit. Her chest swelled with excitement as she looked at it. She knew, however, it was much too early to wake her mum up to open gifts and instead chose to crawl back into bed with a huff. She supposed she could be patient.

The next time Rose met the Doctor she was sixteen years old. She was sure that she had dreamed him up until the day he appeared at the library to tutor her in maths. She stared at him, gawking as he pulled out a chair to sit across from her. 

He was still dressed the exact same way she remembered, tweed suit jacket, bow tie, trousers and suspenders. He was all smiles as he rubbed his hands together with what appeared to be glee. She’d never met anyone so excited to do maths before.

“Hello, Rose Tyler. Are you ready to do some maths?” The Doctor asked brightly.

“You’re the Doctor!” Rose shouted, earning her a few shushes from the other students and workers in the library.

“Well, yes.” He whispered, eyebrows raised, “But how do you know that?”

“Christmas. I was eight years old and you brought me a red bike. I thought you were a dream.” She replied, leaning across the table to whisper at him furtively. 

“Hasn’t happened for me yet, but that’s something to look forward to.” He said, his eyes bright as he smiled at her.

“Hasn’t- what do you mean it hasn’t happened for you yet?!” She bit back, her eyes slanted as she leveled him with a glare.

“I’m a time traveler. Surely I covered that when I met you at Christmas.” 

Rose leaned back and stared into the middle distance. He had mentioned that he was a time traveler, but she had mostly thought he was joking. She supposed that he could be lying, but she didn’t know what he would have to gain by doing that besides driving her barmy. 

“So, you’re telling me that you’re from some point in my future and that you just decided ‘Today’s a good day to pop back in time and tutor my best friend in maths’?” She asked, leveling him with a look of utter disbelief.

“Yup.” He answered, popping the ‘p’, “We had some down time and you thought that now would be a good time for me to just go ahead and come on back to get this done.”

“I told you to come back and tutor me in maths?”

“Well, from your point of view I already had. So, I just had to come back and close up the loop.” The Doctor replied with a smile.

“I think I’m gettin’ a headache.” She said as she let her head fall onto her maths textbook.

“You teens, always with the melodrama. We haven’t even started on your homework yet.” He scooted around so that he was beside her, gently pulling the book out from under her head, “Geronimo, Rose Tyler. No time like the present.”

That was how she had spent a whole semester with the Doctor. She found that she quite liked the man, though she supposed she would have to if she spent as much time with him in the future as she thought she did. Sometimes, when he got on a good babble, she would ignore him and just take in his features. He really was quite handsome with his longish hair and prominent jaw. She often wondered what it might be like to kiss him, but she had never acted on the urge.

She saw him again not even a year later, but he looked nothing like he had in the past. Rose was seventeen and several of her classmates had gone missing. Never one to shy away from a mystery, she had started looking around her school for clues the weeks following the disappearances. It was on week two that she found him.

She creeped quietly through the dark school halls towards the headmaster's office. It had been quite easy to get into the building when one had left the window in their classroom unlocked to allow entry after hours. The only problem was how far away from the main office her classroom was.

She moved slowly down the halls, keeping her small torch pointed at the ground in front of her. Her and Mickey used to joke when they were younger that the teachers slept in the school, she was really hoping that they were wrong. 

She crouched down as she reached the office, trying to open the door and rolling her eyes when she found it locked. Gripping the torch between her teeth and reaching back into her bag, she pulled out her lock picking kit. She had bought the little thing after Shareen had taught her how to use the one that she had on her mum's liquor cabinet.

The lock gave way with a soft click and Rose cheered quietly, stuffing her kit back into her bag as she moved through the door and towards the headmaster's office. She found that door unlocked and sighed quietly in relief as she walked in and over to the computer. She was trying to get logged onto the headmaster's account when she heard the front office door open. In a panic, she dived under the large desk and folded herself as small as possible. 

She heard as feet shuffled into the room and saw a pair of converse and pin striped trousers come into view from around the desk. The feet were rather large, so she figured it was probably a man. Her chest grew tight at this revelation, the headmaster was a woman. 

A strange warbling noise echoed through the room. She didn't have long to worry about it though when the man spoke, "Is someone in here?"

She covered her mouth, trying to tuck herself more tightly into the corner. As the man started to lean down, she kicked out. Rolling out from under the desk she moved into a crouched position and pointed her torch in the man's eyes as he stumbled back into the filing cabinet. He raised a hand in the air and rubbed his back with the other as he grimaced in her direction.

"Ouch! What was that for?!" He demanded as he glared at her.

"Who are you!?" She shouted as she stood up, "You don't work at this school!"

"Neither do - hang on a minute, I recognize that voice. Rose Tyler, is that you?" He asked as he squinted his eyes to try and see passed the light of the torch.

She was stunned as she stared at the man in front of her, letting the torch drop from his face as she pulled her hood off, "How did you know that? How do you know me?"

The man laughed brightly as he took off his glasses to rub at his eyes, "I should have known! No wonder you didn't come with me to sort this, I thought you just wanted to spend time with your mum. You're a clever girl."

"I asked who you were!" She demanded again.

"Alright, quit shouting. It's me, the Doctor." He smiled as he approached her slowly.

Her arms fell completely to her side, stunned as she took in the handsome man before her, "But you can't be! You look nothing like him!"

The man calling himself the Doctor raised an eyebrow at her as he came to stand in front of her, "Hang on, what did I look like the last time you saw me? Moreover, how old are you right now?"

"You were younger and you wore bowties and had sort of floppy hair. I was sixteen then, now I'm seventeen."

"Blimey, but you're young. I've haven't had a body that sounds remotely like what you're describing before, must be in my future. How strange." He said as he crossed his arms and paced the room.

"I still don't understand. How can you just look different?" She asked, crossing her arms and giving him her best Jackie Tyler glare.

"I'm an alien, Rose. When I'm mortally wounded, rather than die I change my entire genetic makeup. Same mind, different casing." He said as he stepped closer, his hands tucked into his front pockets in a way that she recognized.

"That is really alien." She said, tilting her head up to stare into his brown eyes.

"Well," he began, drawing out the vowel in a way that she found endearing, "you're the alien to me."

They stood in silence for a bit, eyes locked onto one another. She wondered what he was thinking about in that big Timelord brain of his. It was nice to hear that she was still traveling with him. How long would things be that way? Her traveling through space and time by his side. She hoped it was the rest of her life.

She felt her face heat and her heart skip as he brought a hand up to push her hair behind her ear, his thumb grazing the apple of her cheek. There was barely any room between them now, their bodies so close together they almost touched. He was leaning down, his face near enough to her own that she could feel his breath against her lips. She'd always wondered how he felt about her, she supposed this was a rather blatant answer.

Leaning forward the last bit, she pressed her mouth against his in a light kiss. His lips were soft against her own, his mouth molding perfectly against hers. She brought her hands up, framing his face on either side and letting her thumbs run over his sideburns. It was a sweet innocent thing that left her heart racing and her mind spiraling. She'd never actually kissed someone before.

Pulling away, he rested his forehead against her own and smiled, "You want to solve a little mystery with me, Rose Tyler?"

She smiled brightly back, tucking her tongue into her teeth in that way that she knew he loved, "What do you think I was doing before you so rudely barged in?"

"Oi! I wasn't rude." He said as he stood up, straightening his tie indignantly. 

"Sure you weren't. Nearly gave me a heart attack." She replied before walking around him to begin her work on the computer again.

"I think I can get that open for you, if you don't mind." He had walked over to stand over her shoulder, a strange cylindrical object in his hand.

"Wha's that?" She asked as she stepped back to allow him access to the computer. 

"It's my sonic screwdriver. I haven't shown this to you before?" He quirked a brow at her as he pointed the screwdriver at the computer, the strange warbling sound echoing through the air as a blue light emitted from the tip.

"Nope." She replied, popping the 'p', "Doesn't seem like something that would come up in normal conversation."

"Blimey. What have we done the other times we met?" He asked as he turned to start digging through the computer files to look for anything strange and out of place. 

"Mostly homework. You were my maths tutor. Scared the hell out of me when you showed up the first day. Thought you'd been a dream I had when you brought me the bike that first time." 

"Maths tutor?! How boring!" He said, whipping his head around to stare at her incredulously. 

"You weren't a half bad teacher when you were able to focus. Passed my exams thanks to you." She said with a shrug.

"Well, I aim to please." He said smugly, "So, what are we looking for?"

"About two weeks ago female students started going missin' from the school. The bodies that have shown up have been completely exsanguinated. Coppers think it's some sort of weird serial killer, I was thinkin' more like aliens after some of the stories you've told me." 

"That's my girl. Anyone new arrive at the school in that time period?" He asked as he clicked through student files.

"Yeah," Rose crinkled her brow in thought as she leaned back against the desk, "We got this new counselor recently. Her name's doctor Day. One day it’s the same counselor we’ve had for years, the next it’s just her."

The Doctor moved over to the faculty files and opened up the new counselor's folder, "Doctor Anne Day, graduated cum laude from Oxford with a Ph.D in psychology. I think we may want to keep our eye on her."

Rose smiled at him, excited at the fact that they had a lead, "Suppose so. I go to school here, what are you gonna do?"

"I heard they might be in need of a substitute." The Doctor winked at her, straightening his tie.

What followed the next few days were probably the weirdest of her life. Anne Day had definitely been who they were looking for, a plasmavore from Cyprus 9 who drank the blood of young women to make herself virtually immortal. There'd been a brief moment there where she thought she might have been alien chow, but the Doctor outwitted the creature in the end and sealed her in a music box he had found in his pocket. 

"Never let it be said, Rose Tyler, that a music box can't be useful." He had said as he shook the thing at her before stuffing it in his pocket.

It had been odd, sitting in a classroom with an alien substitute that she had kissed and was probably in love with. It had been nice though, getting to be around him for those few days again. She knew that she would be with him full-time in the future, but she had never been very patient.

It had struck her, quite suddenly when he left, that when she did get to leave with him, he would just be meeting her for the first time. Her heart broke at the thought of him looking at her and not knowing who she was. How long would it take to get to the place where he would want to be with her? If his goodbye kiss was anything to go by, they were definitely more than traveling roommates in the future. What if she did the wrong thing and screwed everything up?

Rose moved through the next two years hoping that she'd see him again nearly every day. She had suitors, boys her own age who wanted to go steady with her, but she couldn't bring herself to be interested. Mickey had tried time and again to catch her interest, even going so far as to get her mum to help him. Nevertheless, she waited, passing her GCSE's and then moving on to a part time job while she went for a degree in astronomy and computer science. 

It was fall of the year 2005 when she finally saw him again in the basement of Henriks. He was completely different from all the other Doctors she had met. He was gruff and older, but his eyes told her everything she needed to know. The man now standing in the living room with her was her Doctor, but he had no idea who she was.

"So, you're sayin' we've met before?" He asked, his voice rather even as he strode out of her apartment and down the stairs. 

"Yes. Rather, I've met you, but I believe this is your first time meetin' me." She said, nearly running into his back when he stopped and turned to quirk an eyebrow at her. 

"You sure? Sounds a bit daft to me, crossin' your timeline like that when we're supposedly goin' to be travellin' together. Could cause all sorts of problems, that." He remarked as he continued to walk back towards where she was sure the TARDIS waited, plastic arm in hand.

She moved to walk beside him, "I suppose. Are you saying you don't want to travel with me?"

The TARDIS came into view as they exited an alley and she couldn't hold back her smile as they approached the beautiful time and spaceship. She'd never actually traveled in her, but she'd met the girl a few times when the Doctor had been around and she always felt a sense of home when she was with her. The Doctor had said it was because the ship liked her.

"Never said that." He replied as he unlocked the door to the ship and stepped inside, "Just think I should get to know you a little more before I trust you with all of time and space."

Rose ran her hand over a coral strut as she stepped into the ship, smiling at how different it looked compared to the last few times she had seen it. The Doctor paid her no mind as he set the arm on the console and began typing away at a keyboard. 

"I suppose." She moved further in, gently touching the console, "It's not like you gave me a guide on how this would go. You talked an awful lot, but never about the first time you met me."

"Future knowledge can be dangerous. Seeing you in the past when I already knew you in the future is bad enough, didn't need to be telling you about that future as well." He said as he leaned his hip against the console, the leather of his jacket creaking as he crossed his arms. 

She watched him, her fingertips swirling circles on the console as she stared into his bright blue eyes. He looked older, but he was younger than any other version of the Doctor she had met before. His large ears and aquiline nose should have made him unattractive, but she found that they rather balanced one another out and made him handsome in an unconventional way.

“How old are you, Rose Tyler?” He asked gruffly.

“Nineteen. Why?"

The Doctor shrugged noncommittally, uncrossing his arms to fiddle with a knob on the console, “You look younger. Don’t want you gettin’ in over your head.”

“I think that you’ll find’m quite capable, Doctor. I think you should be more worried about that arm meltin’.” She said as she pointed to where it was bubbling on the console behind him.

“What?” He flipped his head around, rushing back to the keyboard to type at it animatedly, “No, no, no! I wasn't done yet."

"What exactly were you doin'?" She asked as she watched the melted plastic drip off the console and onto the grating.

"Was using it to track more of them. You see, the arm is too simple, but if I could get a head I can trace the signal back to the original source." The Doctor started moving around the console, flipping switches and setting the TARDIS into motion. 

Rose gripped the edge of the console, trying to stop herself from falling as it wheezed and shook roughly. As many times as she had been in the TARDIS, she'd never actually been in it while it was moving. She lost her grip as it came to a rough stop, stumbling and falling to the floor in a heap.

"Not sure if I should blame the TARDIS or if you're just a terrible driver." She said as she grabbed the edge of the console to pull herself back up. 

"Oi! I'm a great driver, I'll have you know." He quipped as he moved past her and out the doors.

She followed him briskly, closing the doors behind her as she looked around the street they had landed on, "Alright, what are we looking for then?"

"Anyone that looks out of place. Too shiny, weird clothes, just anyone that doesn't belong." The Doctor said as he pulled out his screwdriver and scanned the area around them.

Rose tucked her hands into the pockets of her jacket as she glanced around the busy street. It appeared to be a normal Saturday. People milled about the street, shopping and eating as they enjoyed the kind fall weather. She was about to give up when she caught the sun bouncing off of a man in a strange way as he came out of a restaurant. It didn’t take long for her to realize that she actually knew the person. 

“Hold on. That man over there.” She pointed down the street, “That’s my friend, Mickey. Only, he’s a bit shinier than the last time I saw him.”

“Nice catch, Rose Tyler. Let’s go!” The Doctor beamed at her as he took off down the sidewalk.

She followed after him quickly, keeping close behind as they tailed what she assumed was another one of the living plastic aliens and not her childhood best friend. His head was even shinier as they grew closer, the sun bouncing off of it in an inhuman way. She’d seen Mickey sweat a lot when they were kids and this definitely wasn’t normal.

When the Doctor grew close enough he grabbed the man by the collar and dragged him down an empty alley. He pointed his sonic screwdriver ominously at the creatures back and waited for it to turn around. When it did, Rose shivered at the look on its face. It was smiling at them wickedly, as if it had found exactly what it was looking for.

“Hello, Doctor. Just the man I was looking for!” The not-Mickey shouted as his hand shifted into what looked like some sort of paddle.

“Well, here I am.” The Doctor said, “Don’t suppose that you’re here for a nice civil chat?”

Rose shrieked, ducking out of the way as the living plastic brought it’s hand down roughly. She rolled under its legs as the paddle hit the ground and cracked the concrete. Finding herself behind the not- Mickey, she looked at the Doctor over its shoulder frightfully. 

It was picking its arm up, readying to swipe at him again, when Rose wrapped her arms around its neck and pulled hard. The head came off with a pop and she stumbled back, nearly falling as she tried to keep hold of the thing.

“Don’t think that’s going to stop me.” The not-Mickey said in her arms.

Rose shouted, nearly dropping the still talking head as the body hobbled around the alley, swiping its arm erratically, “Doctor! What do we do?!”

“We need to get it back to the TARDIS!” The Doctor said as he held out his hand for her.

She bounced from foot to foot, dodging the arm as it swung at her and narrowly missing being hit as she ran around its other side. She laced her fingers with the Doctors and they took off running out of the alley, her friends head still securely in her arms. They bobbed and weaved through the crowd and reached the TARDIS in no time, the Doctor dropping her hand so that he could pull out his key and unlock the door. Peering back over her shoulder she saw that the Auton was not far behind, still waving its arm erratically and nearly hitting people.

When he got the door open, he yanked her inside and plucked the head from her arms, “Nice work back there.”

“Thanks. Took gymnastics and some self-defense classes all through school.” Rose said as she slammed the door shut and followed him up the ramp, “So, what happened to the real Mickey then? Is he dead?”

The Doctor placed the now silent head on the console and started typing just as he had before, "Not sure. Don't think so. I'm sure your boyfriend is fine."

Rose scoffed, holding back a laugh, "Yeah, he's not my boyfriend."

He looked at her over the top of the monitor, assessing her with his timeless eyes, "No questions for me about my ship then? Or me? You just trust that I am who you think I am?"

She shrugged, her hand running gently along a coral strut, "I've already met this beautiful girl a few times, never traveled in her though. So, that was exciting. But, yeah, I do trust you. I could pick you out of a lineup any day."

"S'that right?" He asked, stepping around the console to look at her more fully, "Even if I, say, looked completely different? Hypothetically."

"Yup." She replied, popping the 'p' in that way her future Doctor would.

He crossed his arms again, his eyes squinted as he studied her. She figured, with as many times as he had done it by this point, that the arm crossing was a staple with this him, much as the other him liked to put his hands in his pockets. She opened her mouth to add more, but was cut off as he started shouting. 

"Oh, no, no, no, no, no!" He started flipping switches and putting the tardis in motion. 

It was then that she noticed the melting head on the TARDIS console. She patted the strut by her in consultation. Melted plastic must be one hell of a cleanup job. 

"What're you doin'?" She asked as the ship rocked.

"Following the signal. I didn't expect the damn thing to melt so quickly. Wait a minute, I've got it. No, no, no, no, no, no, no! Almost there. Almost there. Here we go!" He pulled the materialization switch with a flourish before hurrying past her and down the ramp.

They were on the north banks of the Thames when she stepped outside, the London Eye lighting up the water across the way. It was night now, which meant that they had traveled through both time and space.

"I lost the signal, I got so close." He turned around to look at her, throwing his hands up in the air before crossing his arms again in a huff.

"So, this living plastic, what's it got against us?" Rose asked as she moved over to stand in front of him, her hands finding their way into the pockets of her hoodie.

"Nothing. It loves you. You've got such a good planet. Lots of smoke and oil, plenty of toxins and dioxins in the air, perfect for the Nestene Consciousness. It's food stock was destroyed in the war, all its protein plants rotted. So, Earth, dinner!" He said with more excitement than she thought was necessary.

"I'm assumin' that you have a plan to stop it?"

"Anti-plastic. But first I've got to find it. How can you hide something that big in a city this small?" He asked, his brow furrowed in consternation. 

"Hide what, exactly?" 

"The transmitter. The Consciousness is controlling every single piece of plastic, so it needs a transmitter to boost the signal."

"What would that look like?" She asked, her eyes scouring the skyline to see if anything looked out of place.

"Like a transmitter." He said, giving her a look as if she had dribbled on her shirt, "Round and massive, slap bang in the middle of London."

Rose stared over his shoulder at the London Eye. Round and massive were definitely two words she would use to describe the attraction. She gave him a pointed look, turning his own 'dribbled on your shirt face' back on him.

"A huge, circular, metal structure like a dish, like a wheel. Radial, close to where we're standing. Must be completely invisible." He had been examining the city behind her and finally let his eyes fall back onto her face where he raised his eyebrows at the look she was giving him, "Oi! What? What's that look for?"

She tipped her head in the direction of the eye, waiting on him to cotton on to what she was sure would be the transmitter.

He turned quickly, looking at the city behind him, but turned back not a moment later, "What? What is it? What?"

She continued to stare at him raising her eyebrows. This was the man she was going to be traveling with? All that boasting about being impressive and he couldn't even see the great big answer, even as it was literally lit up in front of him.

He turned again and finally caught on to what she had been staring at, "Oh, Fantastic!"

The Doctor took off towards the Westminister Bridge, not bothering to wait on her as he broke out in a run.

Rose rolled her eyes before pulling her hands from her pockets and sprinting after him. It didn't take her long to catch up, the oncoming babble already going as she reached earshot.

"Think of it, plastic all over the world, every artificial thing waiting to come alive. The shop window dummies, the phones, the wires, the cables-"

"The breast implants." Rose added, snickering as the Doctor gave her a withering look.

"The 21st century is the perfect environment for the Nestene Consciousness. All that plastic in your home's and landfills."

"I think I get the big, horrifying picture now, Doctor." Rose replied with a roll of her eyes. 

"Still, we've found the transmitter. The Consciousness must be somewhere underneath."

Rose pointed at a large manhole entrance as they made it to the south banks, "What about down there?"

The Doctor leaned over the parapet, "Looks good to me."

Rose followed the Doctor down the stairs and to the manhole. A red light spilled out as he opened the hatch, casting an eerie glow to his face. It's a quick climb down the ladder and into a strange brick room with chains hanging everywhere. They spot a door across the way and jog to it, ripping it open and rushing down the stairs into the large chamber.

"The Nestene Consciousness. That's it, inside the vat. A living plastic creature."

"I assume you want to offer it a chance to leave before you go tippin' in that anti- plastic?" She asked, staring at the bubbling vat. 

"How'd you know that?" He asked as he started down the catwalk to the vat.

She gave him a soft smile he couldn't see, her arms folding across her chest, "Because that's the kind of man you are, you always have to give 'em a chance."

He stopped suddenly, his back stiff as he turned his head to look at her over his shoulder. She stared into his timeless eyes, trying hard to decipher his thoughts and feelings before he turned away from her and kept walking. She thought she saw some form of awe there, but supposed that she would never know. 

"I seek audience with the Nestene Consciousness under peaceful contact according to convention 15 of the Shadow Proclamation."

The Nestene Consciousness flexed and bubbled before speaking, "Audience granted."

"Thank you. If I might have permission to approach?"

Rose turned the Doctor out as she looked around the room. There were a few of those shop window dummies standing about, but not much else of interest in the room. Looking down she spotted someone huddled on one of the lower levels. Running down the stairs she quickly realized who it was.

"Mickey! You're alive!" She gathered him in a brief hug.

"That thing down there, the liquid. Rose, it can talk!"

"You don't half stink, Mick." She responded as she pulled away, "How long have you been down here?"

"I'm not sure. At least a day. What're you doin' here? Who's that man you're with?" 

Rose turned around to look at the Doctor, her mouth opening to respond when she noticed a pair of dummies approaching him, "Doctor!"

Each auton grabbed at one of his arms. There was a brief struggle as the Nestene Consciousness ordered them to hold him. After a moment, one of the autons stepped back holding a phial that it had pulled from the inside of the Doctors jacket.

"That was just insurance! I wasn't going to USE it!" The Doctor said as he continued to struggle with the remaining auton to no avail. 

"You came to attack us!" The Nestene Consciousness shouted, the plastic in the vat raising and bubbling in anger.

"I was not attacking you. I'm here to help. I'm not your enemy. I swear, I'm not!"

"Lies!" The Nestene Consciousness screamed, "We know what you are! We know you!"

"What do you mean?" The Doctor asked, a look of confusion on his face.

Not far from where Rose was crouched next to Mickey, a large metal wall slid open to reveal the TARDIS. Rose gasped softly and stood up. She took a tentative step towards the ship.

"You came to destroy us!" The Nestene Consciousness stated.

"No, oh no. Honestly, no." The Doctor responded.

"Our world was destroyed by you and your people, Timelord! You turned our world to dust and ash! You are the reason we are here!"

"That's not true. I should know, I was there. I fought in the war - it wasn't my fault! I couldn't save your world! I couldn't save any of them!" The Doctor shouted miserably, an edge of panic to his gruff voice.

The Nestene Consciousness roared, shaking in its vat.

"Doctor! What's happenin'?!" Rose shouted.

"It's the TARDIS! The Nestene has identified its superior technology - it's terrified! It's going to the final phase, It's starting the invasion! Get out, Rose. Just leg it! Now!" The Doctor continued to struggle with his auton captor, trying to pull away.

Rose stumbled as the room had begun to shake. A bolt of lightning shot from the Nestene Consciousness up through the ceiling, a dome of shimmering energy encasing the Consciousness.

"It's the activation signal! It's transmitting! Run! Get out!" The Doctor shouted to her.

Rose shook her head even as Mickey grabbed her arm. Turning to look at her friend she pulled herself roughly from his grasp, "I'm not leavin' 'im. I'm not leavin' you! You hear me!?"

She looked around the room, trying to find a way to help the Doctor that wouldn't end up with her chucked into the vat of hot, liquid plastic. The stairs leading upward had already given way, but on the other side of the platform she caught sight of a chain pinned to the wall. She took off at a run, stumbling a few times as the room continued to quake.

"Just leave him! There's nothing you can do!" Mickey shouted after her.

Rose looked around near the chain and grabbed an axe to help her cut through the thick rope. It looked like all those years of gymnastics were going to come in handy. She gripped the chain tightly before dashing and swinging along the edges of the catwalk. She placed a firm kick to the chest of each auton, knocking them both into the vat along with the phial of anti-plastic.

"Rose!" The Doctor shouted, grabbing her in his arms as she swung back.

The Nestene screamed, its once golden shine turning a chaotic blue as cracks spread through it. 

The Doctor gave her a manic grin, her arms pinned against his chest as he continued to hold her, "Now we're in trouble!"

He slid his arms from around her, one of his hands gripping her own as he dragged her away from the edge of the vat and back up to the TARDIS. Rose followed along easily, only sparing the Nestene a parting glance as the Doctor fumbled with the key before getting the door open. She grabbed Mickeys arm and tugged him inside, slamming the door shut behind him to allow the Doctor to put them in flight.

"Hold on!" He shouted as he put them in flight briefly, reengaging the materialization sequence not thirty seconds later.

Rose walked over to the door, pulling it open so that Mickey could run out. She shook her head as he hid behind a pallet in the alley. Stepping out herself she smiled as she turned back to look at the Doctor where he was leaning against the doorway, arms crossed once more.

"Fat lot of good you were." Rose quipped.

"Nestene Consciousness?" The Doctor snapped his fingers, "Easy."

"I don't know. You were pretty useless in there. Pretty sure you'd be dead if it wasn't for me."

"Yes, I would." The Doctor's smile softened, "Thank you."

They stared at one another for a moment, a comfortable silence settling between them. He cleared his throat when the silence became too much.

"Right then, I'll be off, unless, er, I don't know, you could come with me?" He asked, his cool blue eyes never drifting from her own.

"Don't." Mickey piped up from behind her, "He's an alien, a thing."

"Your boyfriend's not invited." The Doctor replied, giving the other man a withering look over her shoulder before continuing, "What do you think? You could stay here, fill your life with work and food and sleep, or you could go anywhere?"

"Yeah, he's not my boyfriend." Rose said with a roll of her eyes, "But, you know what? That sounds brilliant. I think I could use a bit of a break from Uni. So, why not?"

The Doctor gave her a bright smile, uncrossing his arms as he turned and headed back up the ramp to the console.

She shook her head, still smiling as she took her phone out of her pocket to dial her mum. She sighed as she noticed 10 missed calls.

"Rose! I've been trying to reach you for hours! Don't go outside, it's dangerous. First your job blows up and now shop window dummies are coming to life and -"

"Mum! Calm down. It's fine, everything is fine. Look, I need you to listen to me, yeah? I just got an offer to travel with one of the professors from uni and I'm gonna take it. I'm sorry I didn't tell you I applied, but I was worried you would freak, yeah?" Rose said as she bit at her fingernails nervously. She'd had this lie ready for awhile now, ever since she had reached uni and had learned she would be traveling with the Doctor.

"What?!" Jackie squawked over the line, "You're gonna take off? Just like that?"

"Sorry mum, a spot opened up last minute. I've gotta go or my ride is gonna leave me. I'll try and stay in touch." Rose replied before hanging up the phone and running into the TARDIS, the blue door falling shut behind her as the Doctor started the dematerialization sequence with a manic grin.


End file.
